Catalogue of an exhibition of etchings and drypoints by Whistler

DF AN EXHIBITION OF

&

EICHINGS AND DRY-POINTS

RY

WHISTLER

&

WITH AN INTRODUCTION
AND NOTES BY

JOSEPH: PENNELL

FREDERICK KEPPEL & CO.
4¢ KAST 39TH STREET
NEW VORK

DECEMBER + TO DECEMBER 31, 1910

CATALOGUE
OF AN EXHIBITION OF

ETCHINGS AND DRY-POINTS

BY

WHISTLER

&

WITH AN INTRODUCTION
AND NOTES BY

JOSEPH PENNELL

FREDERICK KEPPEL & CO.
4 EAST 39TH STREET
NEW YORK

DECEMBER 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1910

NOTE

Mr. PENNELL has been kind enough to
write a short introduction and a series
of notes on the different prints shown
in this exhibition. To distinguish these
notes from the body of the catalogue
they have been printed in italics and
signed “J.P.”

N these days, when etching is upon the
de 2g town, when every one who does not
C q °

{J golf or gamble, write or motor, turns

S02 out copper plates; when all rush in
where etchers fear to tread— it might be well
that artists and the public should havean oppor-
tunity of studying or even seeing supreme ex-
amples of the art of the greatest etcher of all
time— Whistler—and there is such an oppor-
tunity in this exhibition.

The most perfunctory examination of Whis-
tler’s etchings proves how right he was in the
laws (“Propositions”) he laid down for himself
and all who care to follow or understand him —
as to the limitations of etching and its possi-
bilities.

The proofs shown here silently hold up to
ridicule many etchings, and many etchers old
and new. They prove that etching is the most
difficult of the arts, for in the art history of the
world there have not been a dozen great etchers
—but we have got beyond that antiquated man-
ner of carrying on great traditions, and to-day
schools, professors, and pupils of etching abound.
Another proof of the utter art-lessness of art
education.

The mere facts of the technique of etching
can be acquired in one lesson. The making of
an etching requires the knowledge of a lifetime.

Etching is the simplest method of multiplying
prints, yet the most difficult by which to attain
great results— great art.

To-day the art is expected not only to perform
miracles, but the impossible. Yet etching is not
a branch of art on which artistic babes should
be suckled. Etching is not a sure way for the
art-less to arrive at notoriety. Etching is not a
method really for displaying sincere stupidity on
as large a copper plate as possible. Etching is
not grinding, dragging, slaving, and turning out
laboriously prints which possess no merit what-
ever. Etching is not a fashion of making plates
equaled in bigness only by their badness. Htch-
ing is not depending on some one else to print
3

proofs, nor juggling with printers’ ink one’s self.
Etchings are not squashed or printed oil paint-
ings.

As all these methods are now considered to
be within the province of etching, it would be
well to consider for a moment the limitations
and scope of the art as the masters have under-
stood them. Etching is a means of expressing
on a plate, the most delicate, the most subtle, the
most refined sensations which come to an artist,
provided always he can perceive them and has
the ability to record them. No one but an artist
can do this, and how many artists are there in
the world? Etching is sketching on a plate, and
how many modern plates prove the artist can
sketch? Etching is putting down a subject in
the fewest and the most vital lines; how many
artists think of line at all? Etching means doing
all these things and others like them superla-
tively well with the most obedient tools on the
most responsive surfaces of metal, provided the
artist has the skill to dominate his subject and
use his tools.

But if one wishes to know what etching is,
look at these prints and numbers more by
Whistler. There are etchings in this exhibition
that have never been approached by any other
artist at any time. Toknowthis is to know etch-
ing —these prints are the perfect flower of the
art—the greatest artist of modern times, the
greatest etcher of all time—an American —
James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

JOSEPH PENNELL.

CATALOGUE

1 Liverdun. (Wedmore No. 4)
A farm-yard in the Village of Liverdun, near Toul
in Lorraine.

“4 small Alsatian town Whistler and Ernest Delannoy
visited on their journey to Alsace and the Rhine.” J.P.

One of the French Set.

2 La Rétameuse. (Wedmore No. 5)
One of the French Set.

3 En Plein Soleil. (Wedmore No. 6)
On India paper mounted into plate paper (chine
collée).

“Undoubtedly printed by Delétre, from whom Whistler
learned the art of printing and who was the artistic
printer of Paris for half a century—immortalized by the
De Goncourts. Deldtre died two or three years ag

One of the French Set.

4 The Unsafe Tenement. (Wedmore No. 7)
Early impression, with the address of Delatre.
On India paper mounted into plate paper (chine
collée).

5 The Same.
On Japan paper. The address of Delatre has been
erased.
“Probably this house was in one of the Alsatian towns.
He rendered most truly in these early etchings sunlight,
which he never attempted later.” oe

One of the French Set.

6 Loe Dog on the Kennel. (Wedmore No. 8)
While Whistler was etching the preceding plate—
The Unsafe Tenement—the dog, says Mr. Avery,
jumped up on the kennel, and Whistler stopped his
work on the large plate to make this one.
From the Theobald collection.

5

7 La Mere Gérard. (Wedmore No. 9)

“An old lady, who is said to have written poetry, and,
possibly in consequence, came down in the world, and
was forced to sell violets at a gate of the Luxembourg
Gardens. Whistler painted and etched her several times
and of her, in the Latin Quarter, endless stories were
told by him.” v. 5,

One of the French Set.

8 Street at Saverne. (Wedmore No. 11)
On Japan paper.

“There are in the French Set prints, like the night scene
in the Alsatian village, called Street at Saverne, which are
as good as any that came after. And if looked at care-
fully ... the same arrangement of lines, the same seeking
for the same effects, will be found there as in the Vene-
tian plates.” Joseph Pennell.

“Whistler visited this village on his Alsatian trip, in order
to see a fellow-student at Gleyre’s, whose home was here,
named Dabo. I have been told by his son, Dabo gave up
painting later and took to politics and then left the coun-
try and settled in Detroit. The plate might properly be
called the first of the Nocturnes.” da FP.

One of the French Set.

9 Little Arthur. (Wedmore No. 13)
“Arthur Haden, son of Sir F. Seymour Haden and
Whistler’s nephew.” iis: es

One of the French Set.

10 La Vieille aux Loques. (Wedmore No. 14)
Early impression, with the address of Delaitre.

11 The Same.
Impression in black ink, on thin Japan paper.
This plate, the Kitchen, La Marchande de Mou-
tarde, the Street at Saverne, and the Rag Shop are
the finest of the very early plates.

One of the French Set.

12 Annie. (Wedmore No. 15)

Early proof, before the name ‘‘Annie’’ below.
On chine collée.

The little girl was Annie Haden, the daughter of
Sir Seymour Haden. She later became the wife of
Mr. Charles Thynne.

“Annie Haden, daughter of Sir Seymour Haden, and
Whistler’s niece. She is the little girl in the painting,
At the Piano and in The Music Room. J do not think
this plate is to be compared for a minute with Annie
Seated.” \ i A

One of the French Set.

13 The Same.
Impression on old Dutch paper.

6

14 La Marchande de Moutarde. (Wedmore No. 16)
Early impression, with the address of Delatre.

“In La Marchande de Moutarde and the Kitchen. .
* are very beautiful chiaroscuro effects.”
T. R. Way, Zhe Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 68.

“T have no idea where this was done. This was very
early work. The drawing is like that of West Point, the
biting like that of the Coast Survey. JI imagine these
plates were banked up with wax and then bitten in, the
acid poured over them, but who shall say?” ae

One of the French Set.

15 The Rag-Gatherers.
Impression in black ink, on thin Japan paper.

16 Little Rag Gatherers. (Wedmore No. 17)
Impression on chine collée.

“A fine plate executed during the same period is The
Rag Gatherers—a squalid interior with two figures at the
back, very suggestive and powerful in effect.’

T. R. Way, Lhe Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 68.

17 The Same.
Impression in black ink, on thin Japan paper.

“The most interesting thing about this plate to me is the
fact that Whistler thought nothing of the time and trouble
involved in changing his plates. Here an entirely new
composition was evolved, a whole group of figures added,
and there is not the slightest evidence of the great labor
in changing it.” I: P.

One of the French Set.

18 Fumette. (Wedmore No. 18)

“Fumette was a model, one of the first professional models
who sat to him. She had a terrible temper and one day,
in a rage, she tore up—not his prints, as Wedmore says
—but a number of drawings.” Pi ag Oe

One of the French Set.

19 The Kitchen. (Wedmore No. 19)
First State. On Japan paper.

“The Kitchen is flooded with sunshine, like a chamber of
De Hooch’s.”’

Frederick Wedmore, Whistler’s Htchings, p. 26.
“There are, as, for instance, in those dark alleyways of
the Venetian set, or the Kitchen of the French series,
passages of luminous shadow which Rembrandt never ap-
proached in the Burgomaster Six, or in any similar sub-
ject.” Joseph Pennell.
“This was most likely made on the Alsatian Journey.

The Kitchen evidently is that of an old French farm-
house.” v.27.

One of the French Set.
Kindly lent for this Exhibition.

20 A Little Boy. (Wedmore No. 22)
_ Portrait of Seymour Haden, junior.

21 Seymour. (Wedmore No. 23)
Also a portrait of Seymour Haden, junior.

22 Annie Seated. : (Wedmore No. 24)

“One of the most beautiful of the many portraits of Miss
Annie Haden.”
T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 68.

“This—a portrait of Annie Haden—is as good as any

portrait etching by Rembrandt.” oF:
23 The Music Room. (Wedmore No. 26)

First State.

The three figures are portraits of Sir Seymour
Haden (at the left), Lady Haden, and Mr. Traer.
There is no indication of fingers on Sir Seymour’s
right hand.

“Seymour Haden, Lady Haden and Mr. Traer—not Freer,
as Wedmore calls him—Haden’s assistant—a surgeon and
friend of Whistler’s, in the room in No. 62 Sloane Street,
where At the Piano and The Music Room were —

24 Soupe 4 Trois Sous. (Wedmore No. 27)

“Some of Rembrandt’s beggars are marvellous. But what
of Whistler’s tramps, the Soupe & Trois Sous, or the Mére
Gérard, or fifty others?’ Joseph Pennell.

“Done at midnight in a low tavern, which was raided by
gendarmes while he was at work. Whistler said he showed
them the plate upside down and, as they could make noth-
ing of it—gave it back to him. The figure to the left is a
portrait of a man named Martin. I do not know who he
, was—he is remembered because, in the Revolution of ’48,
he gained the Legion of Honour, at siateen—the youngest
person to whom it ever was awarded.” JP.

25 Bibi Valentin. (Wedmore No. 28)
On thin Japan paper.

“One of the most exquisite renderings of a child ever done
by an etcher.” J.P.

26 The Same.
Another impression, printed on chine collée.

27 Reading in Bed. (Wedmore No. 29)
Impression printed on Chinese paper.

28 Bibi Lalouette. (Wedmore No. 30)
On thin Japan paper.
“A charming study of a boy sitting on a sloping bank.”
T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 68.

“He was the son of Lalouette, who kept a pension near

the Rue Dauphine, at which Whistler, Legros, Fantin, and

others used to take their meals in those early days.”
Frederick Wedmore, Whistler’s Htchings, p. 30.

8

29 The Same.
Another impression, printed on chine collée.

30 The Wine Glass. (Wedmore No. 31)

“A marvellous little still-life study, entitled The Wine
Glass, also done at this time, may be compared with Rem-
brandt’s Shell.”

T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 67.

31 Greenwich Pensioner. (Wedmore No. 32)

“A study, most likely in Greenwich Park, London. This
and the two following plates were either done when he
was working on the River at Wapping, or they gave him
the idea of working there.” o£.

32 Greenwich Park. (Wedmore No. 33)
Impression in black ink, on old Dutch paper.

This, The Dam Wood and Zaandam are almost

the only landscapes to be found in Whistler’s work.

“One of the very few landscapes he either etched or
painted. Landscape did not appeal to him. Had it, how-
ever, his work would have been just as distinguished as
his portraits. He always said there was no such thing
as a landscape or a portrait painter. A man can paint
anything, if he can paint at all.” Pe

33 The Same.
Another impression in warm black ink, on toned
paper.

34 Nursemaid and Child. (Wedmore No. 34)

“Probably done in Greenwich Park.”’—J. P.
Impression in black ink, on thin Japan paper.

35 ‘Thames Warehouses. (Wedmore No. 35)

“To that Early Period, to that first time, belonged then
these two Sets: the second with its infinitely interesting
Pool, Thames Police, Thames Warehouses, and Black Lion
Wharf.”

Frederick Wedmore, Whistler and Others, p. 22.

One of the Thames Set.

36 Westminster Bridge. (Wedmore No. 36)

“One of the few plates in which the monumental archi-
tecture of London appears—the Houses of Parliament.
That he could draw architecture is completely proved by
the Belgian Series alone, but he did not care for it
usually, ‘And why repeat a masterpiece?’ he ioe” oo.

One of the Thames Set.

37 Limehouse. (Wedmore No. 37)
“Down the River Thames, where he lived and worked for
months.” P ae

One of the Thames Set.
9

38 Eagle Wharf. (Wedmore No. 39)

Also ealled Tyzac, Whiteley & Co.
One of the Thames Set.

“The rendering of the warehouses in perspective is simply
marvelous.” <i 2

39 Black Lion Wharf. (Wedmore No. 40)
Impression in black ink, on verger paper.

“Mr. Whistler’s plate, Black Lion Wharf, or The Black
Lion, a reproduction of which is, I believe, to be pub-
lished in to-day’s Chronicle, is one of the greatest en-
graved plates that has been produced in modern times.
I would even say that it is the greatest etching of modern
times were it not for the fact that it is but one of a set
known as The Thames Series, etched by the master some
thirty-five years ago.”
February 22, 1895.
Joseph Pennell, in a letter to the London Daily Chronicle.

“To me the finest of the Thames Set, finer than anything
Rembrandt ‘ever etched of this sort. He told me he
worked on the plate three weeks.” Ji Py

40 The Same.
On Japan paper.

41 The Pool. (Wedmore No. 41)

One of the Thames Set.
See note under the Thames Warehouses, No. 35.

42 The Thames Police. (Wedmore No. 42)
Impression in black ink, on thin Japan paper.
One of the Thames Set.
See note under the Thames Warehouses.
“This police station stood until a few years ago, when

rebuilt near Wapping Pier. The surroundings are still
much the same.” J.P.

43 The Same.

Impression printed in warm black ink, on old
Dutch paper, with much tone left upon the plate.

44 ’Longshoremen. (Wedmore No. 43)
Impression in black ink, on thin Japan paper.

“Probably the interior of a Thames-side Inn, though the
figures are far from English. They may be fishermen or
foreign sailors.” oe gs

45 The Limeburner. (Wedmore No. 44)
Impression in warm black ink, with much tone left
upon the plate.

One of the most beautiful of Whistler’s plates,
and probably the earliest example of a system of
composition which became very characteristic of
him—that of a vista seen through a frame. Later

10

examples of it are: The Traghetto, The Beggars,
Doorway and Vine, San Biagio, and perhaps the
last and frankest expression of all, The Garden.
In these plates the foreground and middle distance
are treated as an elaborate frame, for the most
part in shadow, through which is seen a small and
usually brilliantly lighted distance.

“This Limeburner’s place must have been in Rotherhithe
or Wapping on the Thames.”’ a. F.

One of the Thames Set.

46 Billingsgate. (Wedmore No. 45)

“The solidity of the buildings introduced into this plate—
the clock tower and the houses upon the quay—is a rare
achievement in etching. . . . The strength of their realiza-
tion lends delicacy to the thin-masted fishing boats with
their yet thinner lines of cordage, and to the distant
bridge and the gray mist of London and to the faint
clouds of the sky.”’

Frederick Wedmore, Four Masters of Etching, pp. 37-88.
“Hamerton has described, and more or less appreciated
this plate, in ‘Etching and Etchers’ and the ‘Portfolio.’

The Dutch fishing boats are still moored in the same way
on the same spot. (aoe 8

47 Arthur Seymour Haden. (Wedmore No. 47)
The excessively rare First State, before the signa-
ture and the date, and before much additional
work on the boy’s coat and trousers, the chair, etc.

Kindly lent for this Exhibition.

- 48 Becquet (The Fiddler). (Wedmore No. 48)

Sir Seymour Haden, who could certainly be trusted
not to overpraise Whistler’s work, said of this
plate, ‘‘ Rembrandt never did anything finer. ’’

“The figure of the violoncellist is merely indicated with a
few swift lines; but the head is fully elaborated with an
incomparable minuteness and fineness of touch. The more
closely it is examined the more complete and finished it
appears and the more beautiful its workmanship.”
Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer,

Century Magazine, August, 1893.
“This man began life as a sculptor, and then became a
musician. Whistler often saw him, and liked him. He
died a few years ago in Paris.” ae A
“Whistler told me that this plate was originally an oblong
etching of West Point, made by an old classmate, who
brought it to him for his opinion. Whistler scraped off
the view of West Point and put Becquet in its place;
why, he did not say. At lower right corner the stacked
muskets may be plainly seen.’ E. G. Kennedy.

One of the Thames Set.

49 Jo’s Bent Head. (Wedmore No. 51)
Proof printed by Whistler and signed by him with
his butterfly signature.

“A portrait of Joanna Heffernan, the model for ‘The White
Girl’ and ‘The Little White Girl’.’ Howard Mansfield.

11

50 Drouet. (Wedmore No. 53)
Fourth State. Impression on thin Japan paper.

51 Rotherhithe. (Wedmore No. 60)
“Every brick in the building on the right is carefully
drawn, in order to produce the desired effect of color.

This plate is one of the strongest and most vigorous of
the series.”

T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 69.

“This plate was made on the balcony of the Angel Inn,
still standing on the south side of the River, at Cherry
Gardens. Rotherhithe is in the extreme distance. From
this balcony also, the oils Wapping and The Thames in
Ice were painted. A scratch across the sky is in some
prints. Whistler told me this was caused by a brick from
a chimney being repaired falling behind him and making
him jump so that he scratched the plate with his needle
from top to bottom.” ie GA

One of the Thames Set.

52 The Forge. (Wedmore No. 63)
Beautiful impression realizing all the effect of
‘‘this audacious dry-point,’’ as it is called by Mr.
Wedmore.

“This was made in Brittany, at Perros Guirec in the year
1861. As in almost all the sets, he included plates which
have no relation to the title.” vir.

One of the Thames Set.

53 Vauxhall Bridge. (Wedmore No. 66)

“The foreground is a spirited confusion of barge, sails,
masts and cordage.”
Frederick Wedmore, Whistler’s Htchings, p. 45.

“From the work right up to the edges, I believe this is
only a piece of the original plate—for example, the rope
to the right is quite meaningless, yet it is so positively
drawn that it must have led from a mast or yard to some
stay which has been cut off.” elie <4

54 Millbank. (Wedmore No. 67)

Second State. With the inscription, and with the
shadow of the man to the right extended, but be-
fore the word ‘‘ London. ’’
“Looking down the River from Millbank toward Lambeth
Palace, on the Surrey Side, the rows of piles, drawn in
wonderful perspective, are still standing in the mud, and
it is most interesting to compare the handling of this
plate with that of similar Venice subjects, done twenty
years later.” J.P.

One of the Thames Set.

55 ‘The Same.
Third State. With additional lines in the sky at
the right; ‘‘London’’ is added in the lower right-
hand corner of the plate.

56 The Same.
Fifth State. With the inscription erased.
12

57 The Little Pool. (Wedmore No. 72)

Third State, of eight states, before the three short
horizontal parallel lines at the top of the plate.

“The figures are Sergeant Thomas and Whistler himself.
This and the previous plate were used as invitation cards
to a show given by the Thomases, who published the
Thames Etchings for Whistler—as well as the French Set
—from their shop in Bond Street, London. Ralph
Thomas made the first catalogue of the Etchings.”

One of the Thames Set. ah

58 ‘The Same.
Eighth State. The two lines of lettering removed.

59 Little Smithfield. (Wedmore No. 78)
From the Ellingwood collection.

“On either side there recede into the distance the quaint
timber houses of a narrow London lane, the -woodwork
wonderfully indicated.”

Frederick Wedmore, Whistler’s Htchings, p. 49.
“A back alley, now partially destroyed by the rebuilding
of St. Bartholomew’s Church. This, until a few years

ago, was the most picturesque and perfect quarter of Old
London.” os Fs

60 Cadogan Pier. (Wedmore No. 79)
Impression on thin Japan paper.
“Cadogan Pier, which may be compared with the litho-
graph entitled Early Morning, is a poetical etching of the
river off Battersea in the morning mist, when ‘a common
greyness silvers everything.’ ”
T,. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, pp. 73-74.

One of the Thames Set.

61 Old Hungerford Bridge. (Wedmore No. 80)

“The reflections in the water are exquisite, and in the far
distance the buildings down the river are indicated with
great subtlety of touch.”

T, R. Way, Zhe Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 71.
“The Suspension Bridge at Hungerford Market. Now
Charing Cross Railway Bridge crosses the River at the
same spot. To me the feeling of life and movement on

the water ts better expressed than on any other of_the
Thames Series.” J.P.

: One of the Thames Set.

62 Amsterdam, Etched from the Tolhuis.
(Wedmore No. 82)

Third State, of four states. The sky redrawn, but
before the butterfly in the lower right-hand corner.

“The first of his Dutch plates—made probably on his
first journey to Holland. At the same time his Thames

plates were shown in an exhibition at The Hague and he
was awarded a gold medal.” I: F3

63 Weary. (Wedmore No. 83)

“Of all the portraits, however, that entitled Weary, a pbeau-
tiful study of a girl lying back in a chair, every line ex-

13

pressing fatigue, and the portrait of Florence Leyland
with its perfect grace of line and pose, are perhaps the
most completely satisfying.”

T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 72.

“A portrait of Jo (his first English model, The White
Girl), though it has been called Jenny, after Rossetti’s
poem. As Whistler knew Rossetti at the time, it is inter-
esting. The figure was started at the other end of the
plate, where a dry- meen of the head is to be seen, only
partly scratched out. J. P.

64 Chelsea Bridge and Church. (Wedmore No. 85)
One of the Thames Set.

65 The Velvet Dress. (Wedmore No. 91)

“The heavy folds into which velvet must fall are indicated
by but a very few touches. Round the neck a ruff is
seen, and that and the hair are drawn with Whistler’s
peculiar delicacy. This scarce dry-point is a portrait of
Mrs. F. R. Leyland.”

Frederick Wedmore, Whistler’s Etchings, p. 53.

“A study for the portrait in oil of Mrs. F. R. Leyland.
(Only reproduced in our book, she still owns the paint-
ing.) Mrs. Leyland wanted to be painted in a velvet
dress, she told him, but, when he did paint her, it was in
a gown of pink and white.” av. PP

From the Menpes collection.

66 ‘Tatting. (Wedmore No. 98)
A portrait of one of the Leylands.

67 The Boy. (Wedmore No. 109)
One of the rarest pieces of the ‘‘ middle period. ’’
Fourth State, of eight states, before the short
horizontal lines which cross the angular white space
in the existing shadow, in the lower right back-
ground,

68 The Little Forge. (Wedmore No. 115)
First State, of eight states, before the short up-
right light dry-point lines had been added on the
left of the edge of the window-sill, and before the
eight short thick vertical lines on the edge of the
bench at the extreme left. Before the ear was indi-
cated on the man seated at the bench by the
window.

This impression is enriched by additional wash
drawing by Whistler. It is from the collection of
Queen Victoria and bears the royal stamp at the
back.

“Forges and smithies always appealed to him, but always
as suggestions, never carried out completely.”
Joseph Pennell.

69 Two Ships. (Wedmore No. 116)

With the additional shading on the sterns of the
two vessels and in the water.

14

70 Ship-builder’s Yard. (Wedmore No. 121)
Marked, in Whistler’s handwriting, 1. (of 25).

“Teyland’s—done, I believe, when at Speke Hall, near
Liverpool—the launching poles are in dry-point, very
telling. Note change in butterfly.” Poe A

71 Price’s Candle-Works. (Wedmore No. 124)
First State.

72 The Thames toward Erith, (Wedmore No. 135)
This plate gives an extraordinary impression of a
raw, squally day.

“This is the first good proof I have ever seen of this very
rare plate. It was not shown—we could not get it—for
the London Memorial Exhibition.” oP.

73 Adam and Eve Tavern, Old Chelsea.
(Wedmore No. 144)

“One of the most interesting, I think, of all his coppers is
the Adam and Eve Tavern, in which the earlier manner
is being broken away from and his final method is taking
its place, both the styles harmonizing perfectly.”
Joseph Pennell.

“This, more than any other plate of the period, marks the
transition from his earlier style, and Whistler himself
admitted and even emphasized this to me—the different

manners of working. The development into the style of
the Venetian plates is most plainly seen.” PUA’ a

74 The Little Venice. (Wedmore No. 149)
Impression marked at the back, in Whistler’s hand-
writing, ‘‘Selected proof,’’ and signed with his
butterfly both at front and back.

“The drawing of the posts—equally remarkable—should
be compared with those in Millbank, done twenty years
before.’ a: F.

One of the Venice Set.
Kindly lent for this Exhibition.

75 Nocturne. (Wedmore No. 150)

“This is the best example of his printing,—really painting
on the plate,—I know. No professional printer can equal
it, and he himself could not repeat it. It is really a
monotype.” Ss Fs

“And when the evening mist clothes the riverside with
poetry, as with a veil, and the poor buildings lose them-
selves in the dim sky, and the tall chimneys become cam-
panili, and the warehouses are palaces in the night, and
the whole city hangs in the heaven, and fairy-land is be-
fore us—then the wayfarer hastens home; the working-
man and the cultured one, the wise man and the one of
pleasure, cease to understand, as they have ceased to see,
and Nature, who, for once, has sung in tune, sings her
exquisite song to the artist alone, her son and her master
—her son in that he loves her, her master in that he
knows her.” From Mr. Whistler’s ‘“‘Ten o’Clock.”

(London, 1888.)

One of the Venice Set.
Kindly lent for this Exhibition.
15

76 The Little Mast. (Wedmore No. 151)

“Take such etchings as the Little Mast, the Piazzetta, the
Riva, San Giorgio, the Balcony, etc. In each the strokes
are almost to be counted, yet how they assist the eye to
complete the picture for itself!”

Hans Wolfgang Singer, James McNeill Whistler, p. 48.
“Via Garibaldi—near the Public Garden, Venice. The

Mast still stands and on it, on holidays, the great standard
of St. Mark is flown.” F i 2

One of the Venice Set.

i7 The Little Lagoon. (Wedmore No. 152)
First State. Before the additional work on the
gondola and the reflection below it.

78 The Palaces. (Wedmore No. 153)

“Somewhat similar and equally fine are The Balcony, The
Palaces, and the two Doorways; the four prints showing
superb draughtsmanship and very effective contrasts of
light and shade.”

T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 74.
“Probably the most completely carried out study of archi-
tecture he ever did. These palaces are on the Grand
Canal, almost opposite the Palazzo Rezzonico, where

Browning lived and died. There is a legend that Whist-
ler had a room in it.” oP

One of the Venice Set. t

79 The Doorway. (Wedmore No. 154)

“Much richer in effect and with more elaboration of detail
than is usual in this series is the Doorway. A beautiful
view of what has once been a palace. ... The. fine
architecture of the exterior with the rich tracery of the
windows, is very beautifully indicated, and the water in
the foreground is wonderfully transparent.”

T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, pp. 73-74.
“The Doorway still exists and is on the direct route al-
most from San Marco to the Grand Oanal. No plate with
such elaborate drawing of architectural detail was ever
attempted by him. The printing in its perfection could
only be done by him.” J. FB.

One of the Venice Set.

80 The Piazzetta. (Wedmore No. 155)
Early impression, printed in brown. The man on
the steps wears a very large hat. Whistler has
marked this impression, at the back, with two
small circles, an indication that he considered it of
unusually fine quality.

“Take such etchings as the Little Mast, the Piazzetta, the
Riva, San Giorgio, the Baleony, etc. In each the strokes
are almost to be counted, yet how they assist the eye to

complete the picture for itself!’’
Prof. Dr. Hans W. Singer, James McNeill Whistler, p. 48.

“Drawn from the landing place looking toward St. Mark’s
Campanile. One of the few plates in which the reversing
of the architecture is noticeable.” U2 Pi

One of the Venice Set.
16

81 The Same.
Another impression, in which the hat has been

made smaller.

82 The Riva. (Wedmore No. 157)
From the Menpes and Ellingwood collections.

“Take such etchings as the Little Mast, the Piazzetta, the
Riva, San Giorgio, the Balcony, etc. In each the strokes
are almost to be counted, yet how they assist the eye to
complete the picture for itself!”

Hans Wolfgang Singer, James McNeill Whistler, p. 48.

“But there are no such perfect plates in the world as The
Beggars, The Traghetto, the two Rivas, and the Bridge.”
E.R. & J. Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, p. 282.

One of the Venice Set.

83 ‘Two Doorways. (Wedmore No. 158)

This print seems to be much rarer than some of
the other great pieces of the Venice Set.

“Somewhat similar and equally fine are The Balcony, The
Palaces, and the two Doorways; the four prints showing
superb draughtsmanship and very effective contrasts of
light and shade.”’

T. R. Way, The Art of J. UcNeill Whistler, p. 74.

One of the Venice Set.
Kindly lent for this Exhibition.

84 San Biagio. (Wedmore No. 163)

Trial proof. The width of the long arm of the
garment at the right has been reduced; delicate
dry-point lines have been added to the shadowy fig-
ures of the two women, and there are new vertical
lines in the water below the low overhanging bow
of the boat.

Marked at the back, in Whistler’s handwriting,
‘“2nd state, No. 4.’’ This impression comes from
the collection of Mr. Walter Dowdeswell, whose
initials are found in the lower right-hand corner
at the back, and is the identical impression repro-
duced in the Grolier Club catalogue of Whistler’s
etchings, compiled by Mr. E. G. Kennedy.

“Whistler by this time has called into requisition the re-
sources of ink—the plate is painted with ink; it is wiped
exactly where wiping adds to the effect of it; and so we
have, as no one else could have given it to us... the
San Biagio, and that marvelous piece, the Garden.”
Frederick Wedmore, Whistler and Others, p. 20.

“This great archway still stands, facing the Lagoon near
the Public Garden, Venice, although at is now more or
less hidden by a ship-building yard. a ge

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.

85 ‘The Same.
There are new fine diagonal lines in the roof of the
arch, and the narrow opening in the upper right
side of it, which was white, is now covered with

5 of

lines. There is only one of the shadowy women left.
A quarter of an inch below the boat, aft, there
are about twenty vertical dry-point lines strength-
ening the reflections in the water.

From the collection of Mortimer Menpes.

86 The Same.

The shading under the archway has been enriched
with additional work. All the white spaces on the
wall immediately above the men kneeling to the
left of the boat have been shaded. Whistler has
marked this impression, at the back, in the lower
left corner, with two small circles, an indication
that he considered it of unusually fine quality.

87 ‘Turkeys. (Wedmore No. 165)

First State, before the butterfly, and before the
delicate dry-point lines to the left of the man’s
head.

“One of his rare renderings of birds and beasts.” :

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.

88 Nocturne: Palaces. (Wedmore No. 168)
Impression of great beauty, marked at the back in
Whistler’s handwriting, ‘‘1st State.’’

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.
Kindly lent for this Exhibition.

89 The Riva: Number Two. (Wedmore No. 175)
First State, before the two strong slanting lines,
one on each side of the lower left corner. Marked
at the back, in Whistler’s handwriting, ‘‘ early
proof.’’

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.

90 The Garden. (Wedmore No. 180)
Early proof, before the introduction of the cat on
the steps. This impression is from the collection
of Walter Dowdeswell, and is the identical proof
reproduced in the Grolier Club catalogue of
Whistler’s etchings, compiled by Mr. E. G. Ken-
nedy.

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.
Kindly lent for this Exhibition.

91 The Same.
Impression of a very beautiful golden tone, before
the shading on the back of the cat, before the
shading on the lintel of the door, and before the

18

little branch immediately above the head of the
woman and child in the inner doorway was in-
creased in size.

92 The Same.
With additional work on the back of the cat, and
with the larger bough above the head of the woman
standing in the inner doorway.
‘Whistler by this time has called into requisition the re-
sources of ink—the plate is painted with ink; it is wiped
exactly where wiping adds to the effect of it; and so we

have, as no one else could have given it to us... the
San Biagio, and that marvelous piece, the Garden.

“Only a little walled garden that abuts on a Venetian
canal; it is an exquisite vision of the irrepressible pierc-
ing of the life of the Summer.”

Frederick Wedmore, Whistler and Others, pp. 20-25,

93 A Quiet Canal. (Wedmore No. 184)
One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.

94 Salute: Dawn. (Wedmore No. 185)

“Salute: Dawn, a marvellous dry-point, which shows the
sun rising over a group of buildings and domes, across a
wide expanse of water. The qualities of this plate, which
has but the slightest dry-point skeleton, depend upon the
most wonderful printing, each impression being really a
painting by Mr. Whistler on the copper.”

T. R. Way, The Art of J. McNeill Whistler, p. 75.

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.

“Also done from his room, he always found his evoigore
right about him.” i a am

95 Lagoon: Noon. (Wedmore No. 186)
First State. There is a positive black mark like a
shuttlecock in the upper left corner, and there are
ratlines on the shrouds of the mainmast of the
brigantine.

Marked at the back in Whistler’s handwriting,
‘*1st No, 51.’’ From the collection of Mr. Walter
Dowdeswell. This is the impression reproduced in
the Grolier catalogue of Whistler’s etchings, com-
piled by Mr. E. G. Kennedy.

One of the Twenty-Six Etchings.

96 The Smithy. (Wedmore No. 197)
This impression is from the collection of Queen
Victoria and bears the royal stamp at the back.

“Most of the Venetian studies are superb, and are already
extremely rare. It is still more seldom that we encounter
those enchanting and marvelous productions of a yet later
period, whose themes were taken from northern France,
Holland, and especially Belgium. When by a mere chance
any of these find their way into the market they are
eagerly secured for many times their weight in gold; com-
prising, as they do, the very finest examples of Whistler’s
work and some of the most perfect specimens of art in

19

existence. I refer in particular to such studies as The
Smithy; Palace, Brussels; Square House; Balcony, Am-

sterdam; Pierrot. ...”
Prof. Dr. Hans W. Singer, James McNeill Whistler, p. 51.

97 Fruit Shop. (Wedmore No. 210)

“One of the many Chelsea shops, most of which have dis-
appeared or been modernized.” J: P.

98 Sketch of the Embankment. . (Wedmore No. 211)
Early proof from the collection of Mortimer
Menpes.

99 St. James’s, Houndsditch. (Wedmore No. 232)

LITHOGRAPHS

100 Nocturne. (Way No. 5)
First State. Proof signed by Whistler.

“In lithography the master has found a medium which
is more sympathetic and personal even than the copper
plate. In proof of this, attention need only to be drawn
to the two marvellous works, the Harly Morning and the
Nocturne, prints which stand alone in the history of
lithography.

“In 1878, after trying the medium, it was proposed
to issue privately a limited number of proofs of draw-
ings to subscribers, at intervals as they should be ready,
under the title of Art Notes, but the response was so
limited, that not more than half a dozen copies of the
Limehouse and Nocturne were so published.

101 Drury Lane Rags. (Way No. 21)
Fourteen proofs only were printed by T. Way.

102 Gabled Roofs. (Way No. 41)
Twelve proofs only were printed by T. Way.

103 The Terrace, Luxembourg. (Way No. 55)
Twenty-five proofs only were printed by T. Way.

104 Late Picquet. (Way No. 51)
Twenty-five proofs only were printed by T. Way.

105 La Robe Rouge. (Way No. 68)
Twenty-three proofs only were printed by T. Way.
The lithograph was later published in the Studio.

106 Little Evelyn. (Way No. 110)
‘*A charming drawing of a little girl, daughter of
Mr. D. C. Thomson.’’ This lithograph was exe-
cuted in 1896.

20

107 St. Anne’s, Soho. (Way No. 126)
Twenty-three proofs only were printed by T. Way.
‘*All the proofs of the original were printed upon
Dutch hand-made paper. A photo-process repro-
duction of this print was published in the Archi-
tectural Review, and, being printed upon antique,
laid paper in close imitation of the original, it de-
ceives many people.’’ T. Way.

PORTRAITS OF WHISTLER

108 Portrait of James A. McNeill Whistler.
(The standing boy) and of his brother William.
Painted in Russia. The painting is now owned
by Mr. Charles L. Freer.

109 Lithograph by T. R. Way.

110 Reproduction of a drawing by Paul Rajon.
This is considered by many authorities to be the
most characteristic portrait of Whistler. His
‘*white lock’’ is in evidence, as also the monocle.

111 Photograph from life.
Taken in 1878.

112 Photograph from life.

Portrait of Whistler at his printing press.
The last portrait taken before Whistler’s death.

21

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